CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Latifah Coleman and Allisha Gray weren't going to let Sylvia Hatchell's return to the NCAA Tournament end so soon.
Gray scored 17 points and Coleman had 15 to lead North Carolina past Liberty 71-65 on Saturday in the first round of the Greensboro Region.
The fourth-seeded Tar Heels (25-8) shot 49 percent, led by 14 and withstood the Flames' late push to give their Hall of Fame coach a victory in her return to the NCAA Tournament after a year away to fight leukemia.
"This whole week, I have been so stressed out," Hatchell said. "It's a good stressed because I'm so excited about the tournament."
Ashley Rininger had 19 points and 13 rebounds for the Flames (26-7), who were trying to become the second No. 13 seed to win a tournament game.
They chipped away at North Carolina's lead down the stretch, pulling to 65-59 on Jaymee Fisher-Davis' three-pointer with 1:02 left.
Coleman followed with a driving layup with 40.5 seconds to play before Emily Frazier hit a free throw with 26.9 seconds remaining to make it a seven-point game.
Brittany Rountree made it 69-60 with two free throws with 25.2 seconds left.
"Tournament time, you've got to keep going, keep punching," Coleman said. "We just had confidence in each other that we were going to win this game. Our motto for this tournament is 'finish,' and that's what we were trying to do."
Fisher-Davis hit another three-pointer with 13.3 seconds left before Gray stuck back Coleman's missed free throw with 10.9 seconds to play.
"I think all of us felt it," Frazier said. "We knew we had to battle every single time, every single board. ... We kind of saw that coming together in that stretch. We just didn't capitalize."
Stephanie Mavunga added 12 points on 4-of-13 shooting for North Carolina, which will play fifth-seeded Ohio State on Monday night with a spot in the Sweet 16 on the line.
The Tar Heels have reached the regional semifinals in 14 of their past 19 NCAA Tournament appearances -- including last year under the guidance of associate head coach Andrew Calder, who filled in for Hatchell while she stepped away.
"Every time we think about the tournament and last year, we get filled with emotion," Coleman said. "Having Coach Hatchell back is great. ... There's more purpose behind what we do and why we do it."
OHIO STATE 90,
JAMES MADISON 80
CHAPEL HILL, N.C.-- Ameryst Alston scored 28 points and Ohio State (24-10) held off pesky James Madison (29-4).
Big Ten co-player of the year Kelsey Mitchell added 23 points for the fifth-seeded Buckeyes. They shot 58 percent in the second half and scored on seven consecutive possessions down the stretch to earn a second-round matchup against host North Carolina, the No. 4 seed, on Monday night.
Precious Hall had 28 points on 10-of-30 shooting while Ashley Perez added 20 points with 6 three-pointers for the 12th-seeded Dukes. They hit 10 threes but had their six-game winning streak end.
Alexa Hart added 20 points and 13 rebounds to help the Buckeyes win their 13th in 16 games and earn their first NCAA Tournament victory since 2011 while avoiding their fourth one-and-done appearance since 2007.
FLORIDA GULF COAST 75,
OKLAHOMA STATE 67
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Kaneisha Atwater scored 26 points and Whitney Knight added 19 points and 10 rebounds to help Florida Gulf Coast (31-2) win its 26th consecutive game with a victory over Oklahoma State (20-12).
It was a sweet victory for the Eagles, who were eliminated in last year's first round of the NCAA Tournament 61-60 in overtime by Oklahoma State.
Gulf Coast was up by five at the half and extended its lead to 71-54 with 4:37 left.
Oklahoma State was led in scoring by Roddricka Patton's career-high 23 points. She had scored only 34 points all season entering the game. Liz Donohoe added 14 points for the Cowgirls, all in the second half. Brittney Martin's game-high 12 rebounds helped Oklahoma State to a 44-32 rebounding advantage.
FLORIDA STATE 91,
ALABAMA STATE 49
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Freshman Shakayla Thomas scored 17 points and three teammates joined her with 10 or more as second-seeded Florida State (30-4) won its 30th game of the season in a rout of No. 15 Alabama State (17-15).
Maegan Conwright added 16 points and Leticia Romero had 14 points, 10 assists and 8 rebounds. Ivey Slaughter added 13 points.
Britney Wright scored 14 points and Ashanti Spencer added 12 for Alabama State, which turned over the ball 32 times that led to a 38-8 Florida State advantage off mistakes.
Florida State led 37-19 at halftime and built a 47-point lead late in the game over the Southwestern Athletic Conference champions.
Sports on 03/22/2015